Growing Up Lonely
by HiroLemonFan
Summary: While Yuya grew up with his parents, Yugo grew up with Rin, and Yuri grew up with Leo, Yuto grew up with his mother Lono Osaku. A series of one-shots about a mother and son from the XYZ Dimension. Part of the Arc-V Aftermath series.
1. The Miracle Child

All was peaceful in Heartland City. Despite some initial confusion, all of the cheerful citizens were carrying out their daily lives. People were dueling, smiling, and overall having a good time.

But while all of this was going on, everyone was unaware of an infant boy sleeping in an alleyway. This infant had short black hair with equally short light purple bangs covering his forehead. There was a dragon XYZ card next to it called Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. Given that Heartland was such a bright and cheerful place, no wonder everyone wasn't aware of this seemingly abandoned infant.

Suddenly, a faint glow appeared in the alleyway. Someone approached the sleeping infant and took out some sparkling dust from a small pouch. The mysterious person proceeded to sprinkle the sparkling dust in the infant's hair, then gently tapped his closed eyelids. And as sudden as this person appeared, he or she vanished without a trace.

The second glowing light attracted the attention of a blonde woman named Lono Osaku, who was on her way to the local grocery store. Stopping in her tracks, she headed down the alleyway and found the sleeping infant. She let out a small gasp.

"My goodness," Lono said, carefully picking up the infant and holding him in her arms. "Who left you here?"

The infant stirred in his sleep before opening his eyes, revealing a beautiful shade of grey. Looking up at Lono, the infant smiled softly. Needless to say, Lono was in awe.

"You're the most beautiful baby I have ever seen," Lono said as the infant reached up to her. "Why would anyone abandon you?"

The blonde woman also noticed the XYZ monster on the floor. Not wanting to drop the infant, she picked up the card. "Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon?" she read. "I never saw this type of card before."

But then Lono saw the infant's warm smile again. There was something about it that made her feel happy, but what? What was it about this mysterious baby that drew her towards him? Regardless of what it was, she made up her mind.

"How would you like to come with me?" Lono asked. "From now on, I'm going to be your new mother."

The infant cooed, cuddling up in Lono's arms. "You're very gentle," she remarked. "And this dragon card looks like it has wings, so it must be capable of flying. Gentleness and to fly… Yuto: a combination of those two words in Katakana." She smiled. "Yuto Osaku, my treasured son."

With her new son in her arms while also holding the mysterious XYZ card, Lono left the alleyway, beginning her new life as a single mother.


	2. Single Mother Struggles

Shortly after unofficially adopting Yuto, Lono came to realize that raising an infant by herself wasn't easy at all. She already had a job as a school therapist at Heartland Academy, so with her new secondary job as a single mother, things became far more complicated for her.

On one particular day, Lono was speaking to a girl who was having some issues regarding being teased when a loud cry interrupted her rant. "Ms. Osaku?" the student asked.

"Oh, it's alright," Lono said, lifting her son close to her and unbuttoning up her shirt. "Yuto is just hungry. Please continue."

The student simply blinked as Lono proceeded to feed her son. "Sorry…" she said. "But it's kind of…distracting."

"He's not at the bottle stage," Lono explained. "But don't mind him. Have you made any progress?"

"Uh… I have to go…" the student said, getting up from her seat. "Maybe I'll tell you another day."

The interruptions didn't stop. But despite having to take care of Yuto during important student sessions, Lono refused to go on maternity leave. Due to her living in a middle class environment, she had to earn enough money to afford taking care of her son. Not just for baby care, but for when he gets older. And what about when he finds that special someone? She had to make sure he has an amazing wedding.

But sadly, on one particular day, the principal of Heartland Academy, Karen Andrews, asked Lono to come to her office after school. The students were complaining about baby Yuto and how Lono was more occupied with him than her job. However, Lono wasn't happy with this information.

"I know Yuto is a bit of a hassle," Lono said, holding her son close as he slept. "But once he starts walking and talking, I'll get back to taking my job seriously."

"The students can't wait that long," Karen reported. "I have received numerous reports on how you have been feeding your son or changing his diaper during discussions. They find it rather distracting, so I would suggest that you either go on maternity leave or hire a babysitter."

"Karen, I can't go on maternity leave," Lono said. "I need the money so I can afford to raise Yuto properly. It's also why I can't hire a babysitter to watch over him every day like you do with Nelson."

"Then why don't you ask a relative to watch over him?" Karen suggested.

Lono couldn't respond. In all honesty, she couldn't remember her family. Ignoring the sudden sorrow in her heart, she held Yuto close as he stirred in his sleep, not sure how to answer the question.

"I'm not even certain if he's officially your son," Karen said. "Did you really found him in an alleyway?"

"Of course," Lono answered. "With a strange-looking Duel Monsters card I never saw before."

"Then why didn't you take him to the orphanage or track down his real parents?" Karen asked.

Before Lono could answered, Yuto woke up as he made a small sound. She looked down at him and he looked at her, smiling wide. "It's his smile," she answered. "It's the most precious thing I have ever seen. I was afraid something might take away that beautiful smile, so I decided to become his new mom."

Karen let out a small sigh. "Aren't you worried his real parents might see him?" she asked.

"I know it's an unusual theory, but what if his birth parents died or didn't want him?" Lono asked in response. "I can't just leave him."

"You can't continue to juggle between your job and being a mother," Karen insisted. "But if you continue to be this stubborn, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave the infant in an orphanage."

Realizing there was no other choice, Lono let out a sigh. "Alright," she said, agreeing to maternity leave. "But it's only until Yuto starts school."

Later that day, Lono had brought Yuto to the local Catholic Church for support. Luckily the local priest not only gave her enough donation clothes, but also provide a baptism ceremony for the young infant. Unfortunately, the ceremony didn't go according to plan.

"I baptize you, Yuto Osaku, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," the priest said.

But as soon as holy water came in contact with Yuto's forehead, he started screaming as his eyes glowed periwinkle and he thrashed around. Worse, it appeared that the holy water was _burning_ his skin!

"My goodness," the priest said as Lono tried to calm her son down. "That has never happened before."

"I'm so sorry," Lono apologized, patting her son's back. "Yuto is normally calm and gentle. I don't understand why he would suddenly act like this."

"It's alright, Ms. Osaku," the priest said. "God wouldn't shun Yuto for being different. Maybe he made him special for a reason."

"You think so?" Lono asked as Yuto finally calmed down.

"Of course," the priest answered. "You must make sure he is accepted and loved by all. Perhaps attending church every Sunday could help."

"Thank you," Lono said. "I just hope your advice works."


End file.
